October 13th, 2016
By Lauren Lawhon, COO

Last Thursday, Medical Marketing & Media (MM&M) celebrated its annual Awards Gala, which recognizes and champions both creativity and effectiveness in healthcare marketing and communications. Health Union was awarded Silver in Best Healthcare Consumer Media Brand for its patient-centric platform, MultipleSclerosis.net. Judges were impressed by new features, such as customized content based on patient personas, which helped drive huge increases in monthly site visits, registered members, and media revenues, as well as monthly Facebook reach (1.2 million) and engagement.

“We are honored by the Silver Award for Best Healthcare Consumer Media Brand,” said Tim Armand, President and Co-Founder of Health Union, LLC. “It is amazing to witness the direct impact MultipleSclerosis.net can have on people who are living with or caring for those with this condition. The impact that multiple sclerosis can have on a person and his or her family is profound, and knowing that Health Union and the incredible contributors at MultipleSclerosis.net can make a real difference in people’s lives is extraordinary.”

At Health Union, we believe the voice of personal experience from people living with a specific health condition is the most important voice in healthcare today. More than 400,000 Americans are estimated to have multiple sclerosis (MS) – a serious, chronic, and progressive disease that can vary in intensity from mild to severely disabling. And while MS awareness is increasing, the seemingly invisible nature of this condition leaves many people feeling isolated and misunderstood.

MultipleSclerosis.net serves to illuminate the voices and experiences of people living with MS – enabling them to learn, connect, share, and be heard in a much bigger and more significant way. Every day, we listen to real people with MS and consistently reflect their perspectives through content, conversations, and community connections such that the platform evolves and grows for people with MS, by people with MS. By combining new, original, daily content with unique, shareable graphics and robust social media, MultipleSclerosis.net cultivates loyal relationships with MS patients and their loved ones.

Since launching in March 2013, MultipleSclerosis.net has experienced exponential growth each year. Today, the platform averages 250,000 visits per month and reaches more than 1.2MM Facebook users. With a total MS patient population of 400,000 in the US, MultpleSclerosis.net reaches ~45% of all MS patients every month.

People with MS don’t simply visit MultipleSclerosis.net – they have a relationship with the community of patients who congregates here. People are attracted to MultipleSclerosis.net because the content speaks to them; patients engage over and over again because they find support, validation, empathy, and connection – making MultipleSclerosis.net THE destination online for people with MS.